What is the Circle of Trust?
If you find a member’s reviews consistently interesting and helpful, you
can nominate him/her to join your network of trusted members or “Circle of Trust”.
You may invite up to 100 members to join your Circle of Trust and, once you
have done so, any reviews that your trusted members have written about the
products that you are researching will appear at the top of the review list.
The Circle of Trust operates on three different levels. The reviews which appear
at the top of the review page are written by members who you, personally, trust.
The reviews which follow are those written by members of your “trustee’s” Circle
of Trust. There then follow reviews written by the authors who these members
themselves trust.
How do I add members to my Circle of Trust?
Simply go to the Personal Member Area of the member whom you would like
to add to your Circle of Trust. Then click on the “Trust this member”
link at the top right-hand corner of the page.
How should I choose the members to add to my
Circle of Trust?
Members who you invite to join your Circle of Trust should be those who,
on the basis of several reviews, appear to share many of your own preferences
and priorities, and apply many of the same criteria in assessing products and
services as you do yourself. Your Circle of Trust can include up to 100 members;
an unlimited number of members can choose to trust you. Please do not add other
members to your Circle of Trust just for reciprocal purposes: adding a member
to your Circle of Trust is like giving them your personal seal of approval.
Giving them your trust simply because they trust you defeats the purpose and
devalues the Circle member status.
If I add a member to my Circle of Trust, does
this have any advantages for him/her?
Any member who earns your trust is awarded Community Points for having done so.
The number of Community Points that a member has influences the weighting given
to his/her review ratings, and determines how "visible" the member is on the
website. Members who attain a certain number of Community Points appear in the
"Featured Member" rotation and in various other places. Read our
Community Points FAQ for further details.
Can anyone see the names of the members who
belong to my Circle of Trust?
Yes. Your Circle of Trust is visible in your Personal Member Area under the
"Circle of Trust" tab and is accessible by all other Ciao members who can
see the names of the members you trust and the date on which you added them
to your Circle. They can also see the names of all of the members who trust you.
Can I find out if anyone has added me to their
Circle of Trust?
Yes. Log in and go to your personal member area "My Ciao". Then click on the
"Circle of Trust" tab, followed by the "Members who trust me" link at the
top of the page.
Can I remove a member from my Circle of Trust
later?
Yes. You can remove a member whom you no longer trust from your Circle at
any time. To do so, simply go to his/her member area and click on the
"Remove member from your Circle of Trust" link at the top right of the page.
Alternatively, click on the "Circle of Trust" tab in your personal member area,
"My Ciao" and check the names of the members whom you wish to remove from your
Circle. Then click the "Remove" button.
